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Blue Jays giving Lind time to heal ailing back

Blue Jays giving Lind time to heal ailing back

SEATTLE -- With Adam Lind's wonky back not showing much improvement in recent days the Blue Jays were finally forced into making a roster move on Monday morning.

Toronto opted to place Lind on the 15-day disabled list with tightness in his back to make room on the 25-man roster for first baseman David Cooper.

The Blue Jays were originally hoping that Lind could avoid an extended period of inactivity but when the discomfort didn't go away it became clear a move had to be made.

"We've got to get him to the point where the symptoms are out of there," Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. "[On Sunday] as he attempted to do any rotational exercises, he felt some pain in that mid-back, so before we get a bat back in his hands and take dry swings and BP and all that, we've got to get that pain out of there."

This is the second consecutive year that Lind has been placed on the disabled list with a back injury. Last season the problems were centered in the lower-back area whereas this year it is the middle of the back that seems to be causing the biggest issue.

Lind was sent to Dunedin, Fla., on Monday morning where he will work out at the club's Minor League complex and be examined by a local doctor. There is no timetable for Lind's return and it remains uncertain if he'll be able to come off the DL when eligible later this month.

During Lind's absence, Cooper is expected to see a lot of time at designated hitter while Edwin Encarnacion will continue to assume most of the work at first base.

That's not a big change for Encarnacion, who began the year as a DH but transitioned to first when Lind was optioned to Triple-A in May.

"Edwin's locked down that position, through his own hard work and his own performance he's certainly earned that," Farrell said.

"He's comfortable in either, but the way he's taken to that position, the range that he's shown, the hands he's shown over there, if you watch our defensive alignments against a lot of right-handed hitters, there are times he's 30-40 feet off the bag and still has the ability to get over in a timely fashion, so his athleticism allows to have that additional range."